Living Rather Than Wallowing

Movin on up!

7 weeks ago, I started a new job that I was excited about with a company that I loved. 2 weeks ago, they relocated me, capping off a 5 week period where I was commuting between Charlotte, NC and Columbia, SC every week and basically living in a hotel. In the midst of this, I had to make several trips to Greensboro to find a new place to live, arrange for movers, and everything else involved with that. Oh…and I bought a new car. Because while I loved that the cherry bomb (my nickname for my old car) was completely paid off, it was just that…a bomb…that definitely wouldn’t have made it the 4500 miles I’ve already put on the new one.

I was really worried the weekend I finally moved. I had been flaring badly for several days…I couldn’t figure out why! I even asked my mom to bum me a couple Prednisones she had laying around. If you know my thoughts on Pred, you know how bad I must’ve been feeling.

The day of the move, I woke up to stiff and sore everything. Flaring in places that usually don’t bother me was especially disconcerting.

I was generally a hellacious bitch in a bad mood the whole day. The movers made fun of my self.constructed tv cabinet and the cat showed how much she despised the car by crying every minute we were in the car. Seriously. I timed it- the longest she went without an unhappy meow was 2 minutes! My brother may have picked up a broom and asked me why I brought my ride inside. That will have repercussions at Christmas this year…

Oh yeah, and in the midst of this, I got my damn period. Lovely…probably TMI…but it really did add an extra something special to the whole day. Promise!

At the end of the day, I went to take a hot Epson salt bath. The water wasn’t warm enough to melt all the salts and let me give you a piece of advice: undisolved Epson salts meets unclothed delicate areas equals BURN.

All in all, it was a sucky day where I felt terrible and took it out on everyone around me wasn’t terribly pleasant to be around.

I woke up the next morning…and strangely…I felt great! The flare was gone and I hadn’t even taken the Prednisone.

I went downstairs, made some coffee, and sat on the couch for a few minutes. I realized that it was the first time in probably a year where I could just sit in silence and enjoy something.

Wow.

I knew that the stress of my old job was very unhealthy and I knew that the transition would also be rough but I had no idea just how much it was affecting me physically.

I’m still feeling good, still exhausted, but am finally glad to be in a place and with a company who doesn’t run me ragged.

I’m super excited to finally feel mental clarity again after spending the last year in a constant state of panic. I only have one cell phone now- it doesn’t go everywhere with me nor does it sleep next to me. I actually have time for myself!

What I’m most excited to see is if this is how much better I feel in two weeks, how am I going to feel in six months? I’m so thankful to have time to get myself together again.

So glad things are working out for you!! Your cat went two WHOLE minute without a meow – that’s pretty impressive! I had two that never went more than 30 seconds … and they generally timed it so that one meowed while the other one was quiet so we had 15-second breaks in meowing!

Hey A, so you’re actually settled in Greensboro, now? If so, let’s get together soon for lunch/dinner, I’d really love to see you. I travel to Winston from Raleigh pretty regularly (once every 2 weeks to be exact) so no excuse not to see you. Glad life is picking up for you! :-p

Amanda, that WAS a seriously crap day. But I really glad to hear that you’re settled now in your new job and home, and that–halleluyah!–your rheuma is settling down, too. Here’s wishing you the best as you embark on this new adventure. 😀

That WOW feeling you get when you come down from the stress is amazing, isn’t it? I did the run-yourself-ragged thing once, back in the dot-com heyday when I thought it was a good idea to work 3 jobs at the same time. Yeah, not so smart. After 6 months of this, my body let me know in no uncertain terms that it was not cool to work 100+ hours per week. Migraines, colds, sinus infections, and RA flares every other week made me decide to stick with one job – maybe with a little sideline work now and then. It’s way better. I hope things continue to go well for you!